A tall, lanky man with dark, sun-kissed skin and black hair steps into the Cage. He’s wearing a faded green tunic and black gloves that reach past his elbows. The grip on my lungs loosens. Thank you, Alyah.
The nubby announcer spins and raises his arm toward the new contender. “The Dark Horse, Hypno!”
“What—?”
My chocked-off question trails into the air as Bax sidles up beside me. “Collar intends to match Payne against Cannon,” he says, and I look at him.
“Not that I care to understand your crude rules,” I say. “But wouldn’t pitting a Colossal against a Dark Horse not work in Collar’s favor?”
Bax chuckles. The sound of his enjoyment grates on my bones. “He thinks Hypno can win. Probably because Hypno has a rare talent.” His face contorts. “But if not, Collar doesn’t risk much by losing a lowly ranked contender. And then Payne moves into position to fight Cannon in the final battle.”
“But don’t we all face-off in the final battle? And Cannon—really? Do the other ring leaders name all their contenders so fiercely?”
“That’s the contender’s given name,” Bax says.
That knowledge was something I didn’t need to know.
“And yes,” Bax continues. “You’ll all battle together in the last round. But you’ll be positioned accordingly so that you’re forced to fight your deemed opponent first.”
I shake my head at their barbaric sport. We move to the front of the chamber, and I notice Crew and Lena near the entrance on the opposite side, their gazes hard on Caben. Maybe he’s formed his alliance, after all.
The horn sounds, and I grip the bars, bracing myself as Caben and Hypno begin to circle each other. It’s difficult to concentrate on Bax, to discover information, when my mind is consumed with Caben’s fight.
Both contenders stop their dance around the Cage and race to the center of the ring. They lock arms. Caben clutches Hypno’s shoulders, and Hypno matches the hold. If Hypno tries to defeat Caben by grappling, I’m assured he’ll lose. All Caben has to do is put him in a sleep hold—knock him out. If Hypno can’t finish the fight, I pray the ring leaders will be forced to call Caben’s win.
Maybe this is Caben’s plan. We avoided discussing our matches because we knew it was inevitable. There’s no use mourning the lives we must take before we take them.
The tension crushing my soul ebbs, and I push the darkness down, suppressing it. Caben can win this. He’s fighting a lower ranked contender. He’s been trained by the most renowned grappler in Nalbis. He can defeat Hypno without having to sacrifice a part of himself to the madness overtaking this realm.
Telling myself this doesn’t stop the flaring panic.
Hypno wiggles his gloved arm from Caben’s strong hold. He wraps that arm around Caben’s neck and doubles him over. Caben jerks his head up, knocking Hypno in the chin. The crowd cheers.
As Hypno staggers backward, Caben slides across the black earth on his knees and swipes Hypno’s legs with his arm. Landing on his back hard, Hypno grabs his chest, as if the breath has been knocked out of him.
Now . . . Now . . . Get him in the sleep hold.
Caben rolls and comes up behind his foe, clamping his arm around Hypno’s neck. I press closer to the bars and count the seconds. Hypno’s kicks his legs, but he can’t get traction to wiggle out of the hold.
Five more seconds.
On the count of four, Hypno manages to ensnare his fingers in Caben’s hair. He pulls Caben’s head down and lands a blow to Caben’s face. I balk at the low move.
My heart bangs against my chest as Caben struggles to recapture Hypno in the sleep hold. They grapple on the ground, exchanging one hold for the next. I want to look away, but I can’t. I hold my breath as the fight goes on.
“I would be sorry to lose him,” Bax says beside me, and I jerk. I forgot he was here.
“He’s not your property,” I seethe.
Bax sighs, the sound something I wouldn’t imagine coming from his thin lips. “Ah, you consider him yours.”
Trying to keep track of the damage being inflicted to Caben, I say absentmindedly to Bax, “No one can be owned.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, protector,” Bax says. “The deities bask in their possessions, moving us around like pieces on a chess board.”
My eyes follow after Caben as he tumbles with Hypno. They both right themselves, and Caben shakes his head, pushing himself onto his knees. Then he launches himself into Hypno’s stomach, grabbing him around the waist. Circling his arm around the back of Hypno’s neck, Caben jumps, using the downward momentum to flip Hypno over his shoulder.
The stadium bursts into a rumble of stomps.